We are spending a week in Locarno then driving to Bolzano, leaving car there and taking train to Garmisch-Partenkirchen area.
Could anyone help with the route-preferably scenic? There's the Lugano, Como, Bergamo, Brescia, Verona, Bolzano route. Then there is the route with breakoff from Bergamo NE toward Bolzano. OR; on to Brescia and up the west side of L. Garda. Opinions please, especially if you have done one of them yourself.
I would like to add another question: has anyone tried taking the train from Bolzano to Garmisch? I imagine there are a couple of changes of trains? We will rent a car once there; working on that one. (Changing car rentals because we are returning to U.S. from Munich after a month in Italy/Switzerland and want to avoid the drop-off charges.) Thanks!

Have you checked out the car lease option for the French cars.I do know that Munich is a drop off point and Rome is a pick up point. You can save a bundle if you have a car more than 18 days--maybe 20 days with surcharge.

Hi auleen,

Sorry can't help with your first question.

But the train trip from Bolzano to Garmisch will be either 5.27 hours (with changes in Brennero & Innsbruck), 5.43 hours (one change in Munich), or 6.35 hours (one change in Munich requiring a walk). I came up with these connections at www.rail.ch, using a departure date of 15 May 2004 and a departure time of 09.00.

Hope this helps!

s

Hello Auleen,
There is a beautiful drive from the north end of Lake Como on S38 over the Passo del Aprica to Edolo and continue east. I would stop in Ponte di Legno (we spent 5 days here in May of 2001) and stretch your legs. A beautiful little village and I highly recommend the little bake shop at the bottom of the old town. There is also a pretty chuch to visit. On to Passo del Tonale to near Livo and on to Fondo and Ronzone and down the Passo del Mendola to the A22 near Bolzano. I have done this drive twice and it is spectacular. We visited Balzano and Merano and loved them both but liked Merano better as it was smaller. Check viamichelin.com for more specifics. There are no tolls. Good luck. I would also ask your question at slowtrav.com. They have some terrific Italian specialists.
Gerry near London Canada

Auleen - Rootbear's given you a good one. On that route, if you have time, you could take a short detour after Passo Tonale up to Madonna del Campiglio for some wonderful views of the Brenta Dolomites.

An alternative via Lugano, Mennaggio and northern Lake Como (as above) would be the Chiavenna - San Moritz - Engadin Valley route via Switzerland.

I wouldn't do the Brescia-Verona route unless you ...
- want to stop in Verona.
- prefer autostrada driving.

The route you mention up the west side of Lake Garda via Limone, Riva and Arco to Trento is also very scenic.

Really you can't make a bad choice!

Steve

Thanks folks! This is a big help. Bob, hmm-m-m, perhaps we will rethink the leasing a car option-didn't think we could drop off in Munich. Rootbear, the drive you suggested sounds great. Can you estimate the driving time Locarno to Bolzano? We want it to be a somewhat leisurely drive and can certainly stop before Bolzano so as not to be exhausted. It seems that we will have some pretty winding mountain roads! Suggestions for a overnighter short of Bolzano?
Steve, "If we have time", that is the question! Swandav, Wow! the train time is longer than I thought! I tried a little known website that I found on another travel talk site and it gave me the time of about 3 1/2 hours. By the way, has anyone here found their timetables to be accurate or faulty? The site is (a long one!):
www.rozklad.pkp.pl/cgi-bin/new/query.exe.en It is a Polish site but you will get it in English. It is very easy to use. I just hope it is accurate!

Hello Auleen,
We did the trip from south of Balzano (Trento) to the west side of Como (Bellagio) in less than 6 hours with a stop in Ponte. I just used viamichelin.com (fantastic resource for Europe) and checked Lacarno to Lugano to Como and Como to Edolo to Bolzano and came up with a time of about 6 1/2 -7hours. This would be about right as we stopped in Ponte di Legno to walk and have lunch. If you go down The Passo di Mendola there is a tourist information at the bottom of the pass before the A22 with excellent help (speak English and many others). We have stayed in Bellagio and I would recommend it as a great place to visit. You could drive it in about 2 hours from Lacarno and then have a 5 hour drive the next day. From Bellagio you can ferry to Menaggio or Varenna quickly and cheaply and have a lovely day. I can't recommend a place to stay as we always rent an apartment for the week. The lady in the tourist office in Bellagio is amazingingly knowledgeable and interesting to talk to. I would suggest you contact them if it interests you. We also stayed in Ponte for a week and it would make an interesting stop over. It is a ski dormitory town so I am sure there is lots of accommodation available. If I can be of more help contact me at [email protected]. Have a great trip. Gerry

Auleen - To add to Gerry's post ...

I'd suggest an alternative route from Lugano east to MENAGGIO (rather than via Como town). The Lugano-Menaggio road is very scenic.

You could then ...
- continue north up the west side of Lake Como and continue via Sondrio/Edolo, or

- take the car ferry across from Menaggio/Cadenabbia to Varenna or Bellaggio if you choose to overnight on Lake Como.

For an alternative overnight stop nearer midway I'd highly recommend the mountain resort of Madonna di Campiglio. If you do stay there, make time to take the cable-car ride from the village for fantastic views of the Brenta.

From there, the Val di Non route Gerry suggests via Fondo and the Mendola Pass is very attractive.

Hope this helps ...

Steve

While I'm a big fan of AutoFrance's lease plan, their drop off fee in Munich is $210 US. I don't know where you're picking a car up -- Geneva would be free, but Milan would have another $70 pickup charge. These fees may start making the lease plan unattractive for you, but still worth a comparison.